Oilers Defeat Rockets 89-86, Raise $6,500
The University of Findlay men's basketball defeated the University of Toledo by a score of 89-86 in a charity exhibition game on Oct. 24 in Croy Gymnasium. Besides the thrill of defeating a NCAA Division I program, the Oilers and Rockets helped raise $6,500 for the American Red Cross to put towards hurricane relief.
The Oilers came out on fire in the first half and opened up a 15-point lead at 40-25 when sophomore forward Matt Ashley canned a triple with 6:35 to play in the opening half. The Oilers would then eventually take a 48-39 lead at the break as they ended the first period by hitting 52.8 percent (19-of-36) of their shot attempts and 50 percent (8-of-16) of their three point tries.
After starting the game hot, the Oilers went cold at the beginning of the second half as the Rockets fought back to take a 52-50 lead in the first six minutes.
Down 60-59 midway through the second half, the Oilers found their stroke again as senior guard Elijah Kahlig buried a three pointer to give Findlay a 62-60 advantage. The shot sparked a 9-0 run to push the Oilers lead to eight at 68-60 with 8:43 remaining. The Rockets would then climb back in and cut the lead to one at 73-72 with just over six minutes to play before the Oilers went on a 6-0 run in the next two minutes to make the score 79-72 in favor of Findlay.
The Oilers would then push their lead to nine points at 89-80 on a thunderous dunk from junior forward Alex White with just under a minute to play. The Rockets then closed the game on a 6-0 run, but Findlay got one last stop at the end to preserve the victory.
Senior guard Martyce Kimbrough paced the Oilers with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting. He canned 6-of-11 attempts from behind the three point line and also added four rebounds and two assists.
Senior forward Taren Sullivan had a solid game with 16 points and six rebounds while White had 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Sophomore forward Aaron Overhiser added 12 points in only 12 minutes of action while Kahlig reached double figures with ten points in the game.
Senior guard Austin Gardner nearly reached double figures with eight points and he added four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Junior guard Trey Smith did not break into the scoring column, but contributed five steals, five assists and three rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Rockets were led by Tre'Shaun Fletcher and Jaelan Sanford, who had 23 and 22 points, respectively.
As a team, the Oilers shot 48.6 percent (35-of-72) from the floor and canned 13-of-25 (52%) three point attempts. They also came away with nine steals.
The Rockets ended the game by hitting 50 percent (25-of-50) of their shot attempts and also had a big night at the free throw line, making 28-of-33 (84.8%) of their tries.
The Oilers will open their regular season on Nov. 3 when they take on Indiana (Pa.) at the Hall of Fame Classic in Evansville, Ind.